Black and White
by Midnight Insomniac
Summary: The tide was rising and falling, breathing in and breathing out.


**A/N: Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

…**..**

Tenten needed him. In the silence of their bedroom, between four walls that strained to hear her cry, she needed him. The darkness slowly took away her breath, suffocating her with its cold, ruthless grip. Sweat drenched her clothing, and her heart beat at an erratic pace. She needed to escape, she needed to run, she needed to find him.

Outside, the sea was calling her- _he_ was calling her. Every crash of the waves against the shore was his echoing cry in her ears. Tenten sat up, kicking away the blankets, panting as she tried to regain control of herself. The roses, the _dead_ roses on her bedside table, trembled with every step she took towards the door. She paused, a ghostly image of a woman fleeting in a broken mirror on the cracked wall. Tenten gazed at her reflection, before grabbing her shoe smashing whatever of her sanity remained. For behind that woman in the mirror, there had been the image of a man, a _suffering_ man, reaching towards her back.

She slipped outside, the planks of the boardwalk misted with the early morning rain. She walked slowly, on her toes, trying to restrain a scream, a _strangled_ scream, that she so badly wanted him to hear. He had done this to her, to himself, to _them_. He had come into her life always bringing out the worst of her. He had upstaged her at every occasion, allowing her to live with her faults instead of trying to change herself. He had made wrong seem right; he had made every color seem dull in comparison with her.

And when he had left, only black and white remained.

They were twisted-their love had been twisted. They both had traveled across the threshold of insanity long before their meeting. Now she was left paying for it all. She was left trying to turn around.

He was gone, just when she needed him the most.

The tide was rising and falling, breathing in and breathing out. She could hear him again; she could hear that dreadful splash he made as he plummeted to his death, one year ago. He had killed himself off, unable to accept the burdens restraining him. She had watched him go from the kitchen window, cooking a lunch he never ate. It was still there, those plates, the food, untouched. It was a memory, frozen and unchanged. Time could not take everything away from her, she decided, though she knew he had been her everything, and time had taken him.

Tenten peered over the edge of the boardwalk, at a reflection she thought she had destroyed moments ago. But here it was again, broken, monstrous, misaligned. Her heart stopped, and she swore she saw his silhouette waiting just beneath the water's surface.

"Come to me," he called sweetly, urging her to follow him to an eternity where they both would be together. It was a lie as plain as black and white. There was no happiness left for her, no matter where she was. There was no warmth, only fear, always fear.

Misery was her reality. She had been foolish to say otherwise. He had made her foolish. He had made her carefree. He had taken away her innocence. Now she was black and he was white. She was tainted, and he was pure. He was yin and she was yang: two forces of nature bound together forever.

The sea tempted her, the darkness underneath tempted her, for it had been the only world she knew after him. She could imagine him, coming from behind her, wrapping his arms about her, willing her not to go. He would whisper in that irresistible voice of his, he'd whisper a promise of love. He'd tell he loved her. She believed him, every single time. But now, he wasn't there to hold her back. She was on her own, and after a moment's thought, she realized she'd always been.

"Tenten," the sea called again, "Tenten." He was there, she thought in a mad rush for comprehension. She spun on her heel, the voice of the waves growing softer as she looked about her. Her eyes remained transfixed on their home, a rundown beach house, to which they had come after eloping. It was wearing away, just like she was wearing away. Soon, they both would be reduced to dust. She could still see the aforementioned meal laid out on the table, the bread moldy, and the pasta rock solid. Insects germinated on the food, going on with life as if nothing had happened. _Nothing_ had happened, actually, not to the bugs at least.

Tenten turned away, and the cry of the sea pounded against her ears. It screeched, it roared, it commanded. And she could hear him, ordering it to be silent and gentle, warning it she wouldn't come otherwise. "Take a leap of faith," it whispered now, regaining its calm composure. Intermingled was his voice saying, "I love you. I love you."

It was logical to run away; it was illogical to listen. But she was insane, insane about him. Her hands balled into fists, and her lip bled from being bitten. Salty tears spilled from her eyes, tears she thought had vanished months ago. She could taste him now, feel him now. He was pushing her, pulling her, ripping her apart. She was lost in him, lost with no hope of being found.

She considered it all, though there wasn't much to consider. They had no friends, their family hated them, and if she were to follow him, the world would continue on. They had been nothing; they had been small and unimportant. A memory of a little boy, a boy from elementary school dressed in green, came to mind. Lee, she remembered. He had been her friend, her first friend. Lee would care, she thought, but then took it back. Lee wouldn't remember her, wouldn't _care_ to remember her, for she abandoned him.

She closed her eyes, taking in every scent, every noise, everything she could. "I love you," he still whispered, "Come to me."

And she did, without looking back, she did. The water engulfed her, swallowed her, but she only felt him. He was holding her, loving her, in the only way he knew how.

She could see him now. He was smiling that boyish grin that had made her follow him wherever he went. She remembered something, a distant faded memory of him, He had beckoned her to follow him, begged her to follow him.

He needed her and he'd always wait for her to come to him, no matter how near or far.

It was simple, so very simple.

Just like black and white.

The End.

…**..**

**A/N: Wow, wasn't that depressing? But I've always wanted to write something like this. It's an intense psychological process, how the character comes to a conclusion in the midst of all that chaos. I wanted to outline that, though I understand it may have been a bit confusing. **

**Anyway, thank you for reading and please review!**

**~M.I. **


End file.
